Island Style....

[Jig Man]

.....South Padre that is.

The trip is going well. I have fished every morning and evening, done OK. All the fishing has been from the second sand bar, so its all wading/swimming depending on the tide so no fish pichers yet, sorry. Going out on a Charter maybe Friday. The jigs are holding up very well. Sompin usually cuts my 40 lb leader, prolly kings before they come apart. Catch so far has been Skip Jacks, Whiting, Spanish Macks, King Fish, and 1 Tarpon between 3 and 4 feet. Anyway hope some fish pics soon..

Picher from the room...

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And lunch....

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[CrappieHappy]

Dang Mel, I'm hating now. Hope you, and the Bride have a Grand Ole Time. Enjoy , my Friend!

 

[Pup]

The view is wonderful. The food and drink looks it too.

 

[JSC]

What beach are you on ?? (OOPS I see Padre Isle) Have you had any action out of Red fish ?

My Grand kids have worn out the Skipjack, hardtails and they hit a bunch of amber jack this past weekend and they did not know they were out of season ... yep just a couple of days .. and yes .. the game warden did write him up (3 guys and they are going to split the fine.. he hopes)
Will had on a Skip jack when something hit it and cut it in two .. then it came right back and hit it again .. he hung it got a run out of it before it cut his line ---Barracuda .. Hope You are enjoying it.

 

[LedHed]

ENJOY!! No hat or t shirt shots?????????

 

[Jig Man]

Things are little different today...



We got rain... And they have been needing it. Tried a little before the storm hit, but the surf was tough. I have an eight hour trip lined up for tomorrow, so hopefully I can put a good bend in the rod wtex built for me and get some pichers. The Captain said he was gonna put me on a fish that would break it... we shall see. But they did catch a nine foot hammer head Monday and a six foot sail fish Tuesday. But today it looks like a sit around the Condo, drink, and get gear ready....
No reds yet, but I did add a speck to the list this morning. I visited with a gentleman yesterday at a fly shop in Port Isabel and he gave me some advice on a couple a good red fish spots after I purchased a new HAT... LOL you knew it was coming didn't ya LedHed.

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Anyway more to come soon....

 

[Hawnjigs]

Dude, that second sand bar looks seriously hard core. Did you say "swim"?

 

[Jig Man]

Dude, that second sand bar looks seriously hard core. Did you say "swim"?

Yes sir, at low tide the first gut is about 5ft deep, at high tide well its over my head... sand bar is about waist deep. Fishin has been good in the second gut.... When I can fish it! The next sand bar is too deep, even at low tide.

 

[Hawnjigs]

Didyer reel get dunked? I tried to service a "bait"caster ... once. The little springs exceeded my mechanical inclination level.

OK, pelagic report must be on the way.

 

[StumpHunter]

Looks to be having a great time, thanks for the report and pics Mel.

 

[Jig Man]

Didyer reel get dunked? I tried to service a "bait"caster ... once. The little springs exceeded my mechanical inclination level.

OK, pelagic report must be on the way.

Oh yea, couldn't help but get soaked when a breaker over yer head rolls by, LOL.. Maintenance wasn't that difficult. Outdoor shower by the gate kept the brine off me and my gear. Then at night I would take my ole baitcaster apart, give it a good warm soap water rinse, dry it then re-lube. Its not one of my better reels but that old 6500C has made a bunch of trips to the salt and is still kickin...
The head boat trip was good. Deckhands ran a very clean boat and were more than willing to help. Their old equipment wasn't all that good, but thats nothing new and why I carry my own. I kept them supplied with deer jerky, so I never even got my hands dirty I would recommend Osrpey if you are in the area. As for the fishing, if they would have been in season, I could of filled an ice chest with red snapper... But it wasn't so they went back. Largest was around 15 pounds, and no contest for The Beast. Looks like I'm gonna have to make a Tuna run to test it some day...
Anyway thats about it, so here is a couple more pichers, now its time to blow out the candles, load up, and head home. Thanks for the replies and listening to my ramblings...

A shot from the back of the boat, that was all the folks on the trip... About a half a load....



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And a couple of fish...


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[Hawnjigs]

Gorgeous fish! In HI red fish - kumu, weke ula, ehu, onaga, menpachi, are highly esteemed and command high market prices, sometimes over $20 / lb. Here's an article from '97 - I would guess prices have doubled in the ensuing 17 years. "Masa" is my late uncle.
http://archives.starbulletin.com/97/01/01/news/story2.html

Looks like you had to resort to bait, didya get any on yer jigs?

"breaker over yer head" jumps from hardcore to nuts - I've been knocked down and dragged over rocks many a time by wave wash as seemingly inoccuous as knee high. And yup, salty reel innards don't work so well.

 

[JSC]

Man that is a pain to have to release the Snapper ... more snapper than ever ..
Sounds like You had a good time Pulling Em ... did you try any with the big jig ??

 

[Jig Man]

Yes I did use the jigs. We ran outta ribbon fish after a couple hours and trigger fish was all that would take squid. I was using bait thinkin the chances at a King Mack, or a Cobia would be better, but no one hooked up with any. I did ok with the 3 oz white/red body with a 4" gulp pearl white mullet... The Captain was using a diamond jig also and he was hookin up purdy good too. I gave him about a pound of deer jerky, and he set me up purdy good. I never did get my hands dirty. There was always someone close by to take fish off and put bait on. I gotta tell ya, i had a great time even though I didn't have my drag scream any... Hopefully next year we will have a longer Snapper season, nine days really hurts the local economies around the gulf... IMO

 

[Ron Don]

Glad you had a good time Mel! Must be nice to get a way for a bit. Ha I was able to do that back in '07.

 

[Jig Man]

Thanks RD, I appreciate it, very nice to recharge. This was the first time Mel and I had a week together, just the two of us, since our oldest was born "1986". The kiddos took top priority for a lot of years, and we wouldn't of done it any other way. Now its the empty nest deal for us. We love our babies a bunch, but this ain't a bad place to be...